GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Grand Rapids Griffins have fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie Texas in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. Game 5 is 7 tonight at Van Andel Arena.

Here are 10 storylines to watch:

• Pivotal Game 5. The Griffins have one more game at home in this series against the No. 1-seed Stars , and they either will head back to Austin, Texas with two opportunities to win one game, or in search of two wins on the road to survive.

Yeah, pivotal sounds about right.

•Tomas Jurco’s availability. Just a day after coach Jeff Blashill extolled the virtues of Jurco, the right winger left after the first period in Game 4 on Wednesday and didn’t return with an upper body injury. He did not participate in a team-optional practice Thursday – in which many players were absent – and is considered a game-time decision.

Jurco missed two weeks in March with the Red Wings with a broken rib.

• What to fix. Blashill, asked after Game 4 where he wanted to see improvement, said:

“We have to break out of our end much better than we have … We have guys who are more capable of making more plays. We got to make sure we make the plays that are there, balanced against not turning the puck over.”

• Shot totals. During the regular season, the Stars put on more shots (36.5) and had the second most goals (3.6) in the league. The shots have continued. They have averaged 36.1 in four games with 43 more shots overall (145-102). The Griffins’ defense and goalie Petr Mrazek have allowed 13 goals, but just two each the past two games.

• Travis Morin. The Stars’ center and league MVP has been held without a goal on nine shots following a 32-goal season (32-56-88). He does have six assists and a plus-minus rating of plus-4. He had three shots in Game 4.

• Andrej Nestrasil’s play. The third-year forward developed nicely in the second half of the season for the Griffins, and that trend has continued in the playoffs. He is third on the team in points (4-2-6) and filled in admirably after Jurco went out in Game 4. He switched to wing on the first line with Riley Sheahan and Mitch Callahan and chipped in a goal.

• Jordin Tootoo. The veteran forward played in Game 4, his first game since he suffered a lower body injury in the first game of the playoffs against Abbotsford on April 25. He looked rusty, took a big hit in the third period and his effectiveness for Game 5 is unknown. Besides his toughness, he does provide versatility that Blashill likes by playing either wing.

• What are the odds? In 125 all-time seven-game AH series that have been tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has won the series 101 times, or 80.8 percent.

For Griffins-specific, they have been at 2-2 four times previously in a best-of-seven and won three, most recently last season in Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City. They won in seven games.

• Attendance. The Griffins have averaged just over 6,000 in four playoff games, including 5,089 for Wednesday’s Game 4. Team officials this morning said 6,100 tickets had already been sold.

• What’s up elsewhere. In the other Western Conference semifinal, No. 3-seed Toronto has a surprising 3-0 lead over No. 2 Chicago. Game 4 in that series is tonight in Toronto. Game 5 is also scheduled in Toronto, on Saturday. The final two games, if necessary, would be in Chicago.

In the Eastern Conference, St. John’s has a 3-2 lead over Norfolk, with Game 6 tonight at St. John’s, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has a 2-1 lead over Providence. Those two meet tonight in Providence.